A small group of House Republicans on Friday blocked House Speaker nominee Mike Johnson’s first attempt at winning his job back on the first day of the 119th Congress.

Mr. Johnson fell short of the 218 votes he needs to win the speakership, with three Republicans — Reps. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Keith Self of Texas — voting against him. That was more than enough to blast through the one-vote cushion that Mr. Johnson had.

The first ballot had 216 votes for Mr. Johnson and 215 for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, New York Democrat. The three Johnson defectors voted for other Republican members.

Rep. Stephanie Bice, Oklahoma Republican, said the first ballot vote was still open, and Mr. Johnson was meeting with Mr. Norman and Mr. Self to try to convince them to change their votes.

The speaker’s initial failure to garner enough support in the first round of voting also showed the limits of the endorsement from President-elect Donald Trump, who again threw his support behind Mr. Johnson hours before the vote.

Mr. Johnson can have the House vote for as many rounds as it takes to win, and he’s offered no indications that he plans to drop out. When asked what it would say if he didn’t win in the first round while walking into the chamber, Mr. Johnson said, “It says nothing.”

“It’s part of the process,” he said, adding he will “get it done.”

The speaker’s vote is the first order of business in the House to kick off a new Congress, and if lawmakers cannot coalesce around someone, the lower chamber is effectively at a standstill.

The loss in the initial round comes after the speaker was confident he had swayed the holdouts and undecided votes after meeting with irate lawmakers on Thursday and Friday. A memo circulated by holdouts spelled out their dissatisfaction with Mr. Johnson, with grievances dating back to when he won the gavel in late 2023.

“The House must be organized to deliver on the historic mandate granted to President Trump and Republicans,” the memo read. “It currently is not — as demonstrated many times over the last year and, most recently, the week before Christmas.”

Many of Mr. Johnson’s critics were frustrated that he cut deals with Democrats during the last Congress for a variety of measures, including Ukraine aid and some spending deals. Those agreements were almost a given, considering the razor-thin majority Republicans had that continued to shrink throughout the last two years.

Mr. Johnson and many other House Republicans have warned that if the speaker’s vote is not wrapped up quickly, it will delay the Jan. 6 certification of the 2024 presidential election results and push back their timeline of implementing Mr. Trump’s agenda. The presidential inauguration takes place Jan. 20.

Republicans warned the speaker to not make any deals with holdout lawmakers similar to his predecessor, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, whose dealmaking with hard-line holdouts ultimately led to his ouster nine months into his term with the gavel.

Mr. Norman said that the speaker had not made any commitments to fellow holdouts behind closed doors.

“He’s listening. He’s given us a sheet and that’s about it,” he said.

Mr. Norman said the sheet is full of “generalities,” vague offers of “we’ll try this, we’ll try that.”

But Mr. Johnson did lay out a roadmap on X of three points that he would adhere to if wins the gavel that appeared primed to win over holdouts that are particularly sensitive about the increasing federal deficit.

Those guardrails included creating a working group of “independent experts” to work with the incoming Department of Government Efficiency to implement spending reforms. That same working group would also be tasked with reviewing existing audits of federal agencies.

He would also request House committees to do “aggressive authorizations and appropriations reviews” to root out illegal practices to hold agencies accountable that have “weaponized government against the American people.”

Ahead of the first vote on Friday, Mr. Johnson told reporters that the speaker’s election was about more than one person, and warned that “we don’t have time for drama.”

“My simple message to my colleagues is make suggestions about process improvements, we’re open to that at all times, but I don’t make deals with anyone,” he said. “There’s no quid pro quo here, I don’t do anything in exchange for a vote other than commit to make this institution work as effectively and efficiently as possible.”

“I have made no deals with anyone,” Mr. Johnson said as he walked onto the House floor. “And I’m very proud to say that.”

• Lindsey McPherson can be reached at lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com.

• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.